Media Medium
2 January 2002

JEAN-MARIE MESSIER

Messier: the impossible dreamer

The big-thinking Sagittarian who rattled Murdoch's cage with
last year's EchoStar and USA Networks deals is showing no
signs of slowing down in 2002

Most of us treat ourselves to something special on our birthdays,
and for Vivendi Universal boss Jean-Marie Messier, his recent
birthday treat was the 1.5 bn dollar purchase of a 10 percent
share in EchoStar, followed a few days later by a 10.3 bn deal
for USA Networks. But that's small beer for a big-thinking, big-
spending Sagittarian.

Messier (December 13 1956) appears to have all the global
aspirations and entrepreneurial instincts of this sign. Famous
for their love of freedom and travel, Sagittarians refuse to
accept boundaries and believe that anything is possible. It takes
a peculiarly Sagittarian imagination to turn a Parisian sewer and
water company into the world's second largest media group, within
the space of five years. Typically, "Sagittarians expand into
previously undreamed-of realms because there is a desire to
viscerally know, to experience, to try their wings, and to have
excitement through adventure. They travel far and fast, either
geographically or in thought, or both" (Sakoian & Acker,
Astrologers' Handbook).

No sign uproots more readily and while Messier has pitched camp
in a 17m dollar New York apartment, back in France his critics
claim he is neglecting French culture and sensibilities. Perhaps
they are right. There are few home-loving or protectionist
instincts in his horoscope, and with many of his planets aligned
in a fiery 'kite' formation, he is a born gambler, always ready
to push his luck.

Some astrologers would be jumpy about his entry into the big
league of US media at the time of a birthday eclipse on his Sun
(14 December). Eclipses often indicate blind spots, blind faith
and wild judgment, and given the Sagittarian propensity to go
over-the-top, has Messier bitten off more than he can chew?
Probably not. An eclipse irrevocably changes the rules of the
game, creating new winners as well as losers, and with all other
current indications in his horoscope strong and positive, it
looks as if this Archer is right on target. Vivendi's stake in
EchoStar, added to USA Networks, gives it distribution for its
content, and in the process Messier has rattled Murdoch's cage.
It was EchoStar which recently defeated News Corporation for
control of Hughes Electronics, owner of DirecTV, thereby
upsetting the mogul's satellite broadcasting ambitions.

All of which has resulted in Messier being seen as the new
Murdoch. The astrological connection between the two men gives
astrologers a chuckle. They have a cosmic marriage - a union of
Messier's Sun and Murdoch's Moon - and it is this contact that
has been whacked by the eclipse, putting the Frenchman on a roll
and the Aussie down-under, on the dark side of the Moon.

Messier promises that Vivendi will consolidate in the coming
year, but consolidation and Sagittarius are ultimately a
contradiction in terms. Fire always seeks new fuel to consume,
and although Messier's Sagittarian fires may burn low in 2003 as
an earthy, Taurean influence filters through his horoscope, in
2004, transforming Pluto crosses his Sun. Expect this Sagittarian
Archer to be on the move again, heading for undreamed-of realms
and seeking yet more impossible things to do.